Trolling rods for salmon

Might be in the market for a new trolling rod for salmon. Im using a 7 ft Fenwick right now made of "Fenglass," lure weight 1 - 6 oz, line rating 30 - 50 pounds. It works great, just want to go as light as possible but without stressing the rod (I plan to use 2 - 2.5 cannonballs) and with good lure action.

Whats the lightest rod your using while trolling big cannonballs? Any problems?

thanks, Adam

i think the diving planes are easier to use than the cannonballs. they tangle less when i let out line. with these i can use a lighter rod because i disengage the plane before i reel in.

Chris are you using the middle size diver or the big one?

can you get those diving planes down to 80 - 100 ft??? I thought those things were for use in rivers. it seems like they might behave a bit eractic at that level.

The packaging that comes witha deep six says the largest size can go 120 feet. that's a 'marketing' maximum
so I'm sure the typical depth is not that deep, maybe half of that as a rule of thumb?

from http://www.luhrjensen.com/faqs.cfm#a1

Answers

1. What is the difference (besides appearance) between the Deep Six, Pink Lady and the Jet Diver? I just purchased a Deep Six and I'm wondering if I made the right decision. Thanks in advance! Jeff - California

The Deep Six, Pink Lady and Jet Diver all perform the same basic function; they dive, taking the place of a lead weight, when trolled behind your boat.
However there are important differences that make each diver distinct and popular depending on the trolling application.
Deep Six
The Deep Six dives deep and tracks straight and features an adjustable trip mechanism. The face of this diver is dished so it will track straighter than divers with a flat planing surface. This allows trollers to position trolling rods close together without line tangles. The positive trip mechanism makes this diver easy to trip from the boat. We have recently introduced an all-new Double Deep Six that will dive deeper and at a steeper angle and only pull slightly harder than the standard model. The Double Deep should be popular for anglers that target fish like chinook salmon or lake trout, or want to reach a deep-water thermal cline. The Double Deep comes in a 4 and 7-ounce size.
Pink Lady
The Pink Lady is sized similar to the Deep Six but features a resettable trip mechanism. This diver will reset itself after a false strike.
Jet Diver
The Jet Diver is held in a planing position with an air chamber rather than a lead weight. This makes it an ideal river back trolling diver because it will not sink to the bottom when encountering slack water currents. It floats at rest and only dives when pulled through the water making it easy for you to correctly gauge trolling distances.
Buzz

hey mike, i use the small or medium plane. the big one pulls too hard and tires me out. but usually i fish pacifica, which is shallow, moss is much deeper, and although i have caught fish there, other methods may be better there.

That's what I figured the big one pulls pretty hard they take the stretch right out of your mono.

I agree with Blue that a long flexible rod is where it's at for trolling for salmon from a kayak.  They provide a great shock absorber allowing you to keep tension on the fish under lots of different situations with barbless hooks... particularly when you stop paddling to grab your rod from the rod holder. 

You should look at the Lamiglas CG 90 DR fiberglass trolling rods.... 9', 2 piece, 15-30# line rating, 1-4 oz lure rating.  I think they would make great diving plane rods as well as lead ball trolling rods.  They are also pretty affordable at under $100... I think Outdoor Pro Shop has them at $89.

I'm planning to build myself one of those rods for this coming salmon season, acid wrapped, an coupled with the Diawa Sealine CG17LCA linecounter reel.  It's just a cute little line counter that I think will be perfect for salmon trolling or mooching from the yak. 

Erik

Great topic Adam.  It's funny you were thinking the same thing I was.
Or at least I was thinking of getting a better salmon rod because all of my rods pretty much suck. 

I need Erik to build me custom Spiral wrap rods.

My biggest salmon was about 25 pounds on a Fenwick glass rod rated 30 - 50 pounds. I usually use that rod for big tuna and Yellowtail and it was just WAY too much power for that salmon and wasn't that fun.

I want to go as light as possible but I'm thinking dragging around those lead balls could put a lot of stress on the rod. I'm thinking of using my Seeker Black Steel 8 ft rod which is a composite of glass & graphite. The glass should stand up to trolling stress and the length & graphite should make the fight a little more gamely. I just dint want to muck up that rod - its my favorite!

Those Taloras look pretty cool. Shimano's customer service is incredible. Those guys really know how to keep anglers happy! About the Taloras... are they glass or graphite? And... will pure graphite rods take the abuse of trolling cannonballs around year after year??

Found this site that sells them.

http://www.castawaylakes.com/Talora.html

TLA-106M-2   Medium Fast  10'6"  Tip + 11     12-25  2-Piece  $84.99   

If the cost is over $200 shipping is free. 

thanks for your comments bluekayak & Erik. I'm looking at the TLA-96MH for $80 bucks.

Potto, check out FishUSA.com

they have some Talora's there and the shipping is free.

Could someone explain to me how this 10 1/2 ft rod ( 12-25  test) won't break?

I mean if you are trolling a 2 pound weight, wouldn't the rod just bend to a point where it becomes useless?

12-25 lb test rod trolling a 2 lb weight doesn't sound right.

TL

Let's say you have a rod rated for 20#.  How exactly is the rod rated for that?  Nominally it's rated such that the the rod is at the "best" action when the drag is at 1/3 the line rating.  I say nominally because in practice it is pretty subjective.  So you won't break a 20# rod with 2 pounds of weight hanging on it.

-Allen

you can answer this for yourself in your garage.

Just take one of your rods, attach a 2lb weight, put your
yak on the ground, put the rod in a holder, and let the 2lb weight sit suspended in
a bucket of water (2lbs of lead in water exerts less force than 2lbs of lead in air).  
This will tell you about how far the rod will bend while trolling.

hopefully the fish you catch will put more than that force on your rod anyway!